Montville man, 72, is injured in four-car accident in Boonton

BOONTON – A 72-year-old Montville man was rushed to St. Clare’s hospital in Denville after he caused a four-car crash Thursday under the Route 287 overpass on Wootton Street, police said.

Authorities believe Robert Wilhalme was unconscious from a heart attack or some other medical emergency just before he set off a chain of collisions with three other vehicles that had been waiting at a traffic light at the intersection with Myrtle Avenue.

Wilhalme’s Mercedes, traveling west on Wootton Street around noon, crashed into the back of a 2002 Infinity sport utility vehicle and plowed the SUV into the lane to its left, Boonton Police Capt. Curtis James said. The Infinity, meanwhile, struck the back of a Ford Crown Victoria that had been in front of the SUV.

Upon being hit, the Crown Victoria was sent into the back of a 2007 Ford Edge, James said.

Wilhalme had been driving at a “substantial” rate of speed just before the crash, police said, and there was no indication that Wilhalme used his car’s brakes.

Police said two of the drivers – a 40-year-old woman from Boonton and a 30-year-old woman from Montville – complained of back and neck pain. The other driver, a 52-year-old man from the Towaco section of Montville, said he suffered no injuries. Police did not name the drivers.

Wilhalme was not breathing and had no pulse when emergency responders arrived, James said. A defibrillator restored Wilhalme’s heartbeat, but the man was unable to breathe on his own, according to authorities.